Crab Wood
Children will enjoy climbing trees, making dens, finding rope swings and the spectacular carpets of bluebells on this walk.
The Basics
Time: Our route took around 45 minutes, but you could easily walk for longer or shorter using the network of paths
Distance: Around 2 km
Terrain: Flat woodland paths
Pushchair: The paths in the nature reserve side east of Woodman Lane would be suitable, but there are quite a few logs and fallen trees that would cause obstacles on the Crab Wood side, west of Woodman Lane.
Dogs: Yes
Refreshments: None, but there are a couple of picnic tables near the car park and a free to use bbq. Beechcroft Farm Shop and Tea Barn is also near by (SO22 5QS)
Toilets: None
Parking: Car park off Sarum Road (Postcode: SO21 2PA - W3W: best/magically/rice). If you have a pushchair you may prefer to use the laybys along Woodman Lane and Lanham Lane as they are closer to the pushchair friendly trails.
Crab Wood is a fine example of ancient coppiced woodland and this makes it the perfect habitat for bluebells. Come in spring for one of the best displays in Hampshire.
The Route
We took the path into the trees on the eastern side of the car park. We followed the same path until it bought us to the road.
We crossed the road into the nature reserve, taking the long, straight path ahead. This took us to the next road, where we turned left and walked for around 80 metres up the quiet lane, before taking the next left turning back into the woods.
We followed this path, ignoring any of the side paths until we came to a left and right fork. We went right and soon came to the den that can be seen in our pictures. After the den, we chose the left path at a three pronged fork to find a route that took us back to Woodman’s Lane.
We crossed the lane here and joined the bridlepath on the other side, turning left to walk parallel to the road. This path eventually brought us back to the point where we first crossed the road, so we turned right and retraced our steps back to the car park.
There are lots of paths within the nature reserve and using the surrounding lanes as markers, it is pretty easy to explore and find your won route.
We suggest viewing the interactive map below as a ‘Trails Map’ to ensure all the paths are visible:
Did you know?
Over half the world’s population of bluebells grow in the UK.
Bluebells are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If you dig up a wild bluebell you can be heavily fined.